The Ghillies Lair Beefeater Restaurant in Aberdeen

- Guide to the restaurant and bar menu and facilities.

Set alongside the bonnie banks of the River Dee with panoramic views of the Bridge of Dee and the River, the Ghillies Lair is a relaxing place to enjoy a quite drink and a meal. The rear patio affords even better views.

Please note that from 2007 the Ghillies Lair Beefeater became a Harvester Restaurant in Aberdeen and the first Harvester in Scotland. This review will be updated to reflect this change to a Harvester restaurant soon.

The interior is separated into two sections, the public bar on the left and the restaurant on the right. You need to wait at the adjoining reception area to be shown to your table at the restaurant by the staff. Food can be ordered at the public bar and consists of a wide range of burgers, wraps and daily specials.

The restaurant welcomes children and each child gets a free goodie bag when they enter the restaurant. This contains crayons, puzzles and colouring in drawings and a balloon to keep the wee ones amused. The bairns have their own menu with specials such as 2 courses and a drink for about £5. The portions are large, so will satisfy the older children.

The tables are well spaced out and noise doesn't travel - good news for those without children! Even better news for those wanting a romantic meal. The service is attentive and relaxed and nothing seems too much trouble to the staff.

The Ghillies Lair Menu

The full restaurant menu can be viewed on the Beefeater website. Favourites include a wide range of steaks such us sirloin, fillet, rump and rib-eye in a range of sizes from 7 ounces through to whopping 12 ounce steaks. A range of sauces such as creamy peppercorn, cheesy stilton and red wine can be added to your steak.

There is also a wide range of chefs' specialities such as paella, duck, chicken and fish dishes, along with classics like gammon steak or a mixed grill.

Although the Ghillies Bar is a Beefeater restaurant there is a wide range of vegetarian dishes such as cheese topped red onion tart, vegetarian paella and caesar salad.

Portions are huge and will satisfy the hungriest of eaters. You can also order side dishes such as onion rings, breaded mushrooms and garlic breads. The rustic bread is particularly complimentary with most dishes.

For those looking for a three course meal the Ghillies Lair does serve a wide range of starters and puddings. Starters range from pates, nachos, soup and breaded mushrooms with dips.

Do try and save some room for their mouth-watering and enticing puddings such as jaffa cake cheesecake, sticky toffee and date pudding, profiteroles, gateaus, ice creams and waffles. Be warned - the pictures on the menu are hard to resist!

Traditional roasts such as turkey, beef and lamb are served on a Sunday.

The kitchen is open, so you can watch the chefs' prepare and cook meals. If all that hard work makes you tired then the various fishing and hunting pictures are eye catching and relaxing to study. If your bairns are like mine, they'll enjoy walking around the restaurant looking at all the fishing rods, guns, pistols and skean dhu's hanging on the walls.

Facilities for the disabled include ramps and handrails at the entrance and disabled toilets.

There is a large free car park.

When paying the bill do remember to give the waitress your Nectar card - you can claim free Nectar points.

Contact Address, Telephone Number and Website For The Ghillies Lair Beefeater Restaurant In Aberdeen

Ghillies Lair
The Great Southern Road
Bridge of Dee
Aberdeen
AB1 5XA

Tel: (01224) 249924

Website www.beefeater.co.uk

How To Get To The Ghillies Lair Beefeater Restaurant In Aberdeen

Head towards the A90 Stonehaven Road - the restaurant is located on the first roundabout on the edge of Garthdee, Holborn and Kincorth boundary.

In June 2007 The Harvester restaurant at The Ghillies Lair donated £500 to the Lord Provost's trust which helps sufferers of Multiple Sclerosis (MS) and performs research into the condition. The money was given to former Lord Provost of Aberdeen, Mr John Reynolds, by the Ghillies Lair manager Caroline McHugh.

The Ghillies Lair restaurant (now the Harvester restaurant Aberdeen) was build it 1989 on the site of the Inverdee changing rooms of the Aberdeen Youth Service. As part of the deal for the new Beefeater Steak House restaurant and bar a new changing room facility for the 13 football pitches was built. This can be seen to the right of the Harvester restaurant and has its own car park.